Fragrance rises to dance

Chapter 86

"White sleeve beads?" Copper-headed Monk asked Xue Weiming blankly, "What are those?"

Xue Weiming coughed, "That's the biggest brothel in Luoyang..." The Copper-Headed Monk stared wide-eyed at Rong Yin in utter astonishment, muttering, "***..."

Sheng Xiang, standing behind Yu Cuiwei, listened to his introduction of Rong Yin and Yu Xiu's "background" and laughed until her stomach hurt. Rong Yin and Yu Xiu, however, remained calm and unperturbed. Zhuge Zhi, inwardly annoyed, only believed a fraction of Yu Cuiwei's words. With a "whoosh," he drew his sword. "Yu Cuiwei, you are lewd and lustful, a murderer of countless lives. Today, your evil deeds are fully exposed. We, your men, will act on behalf of Heaven and take your head with our three-foot swords!" At his command, his men and women rushed forward. Rong Yin and Yu Xiu parried, and in an instant, weapons clashed on both sides around Yu Cuiwei, ready to erupt at any moment.

"Wait a minute!" Sheng Xiang stood in front of Yu Cuiwei, facing Zhuge Zhi's longsword, raised her eyebrows and shouted, "Stop, all of you!"

Several longswords instantly pointed at Sheng Xiang's neck and several vital points in her chest. Zhuge Zhicai stroked his beard and said, "It is inevitable for a young man to be bewitched by beauty. Considering your youth and ignorance, I will not blame you. Now step back!"

Shengxiang ignored his admonitions and raised his voice, "Listen up, heroes! The eleven sects, including Shiqige, were pursuing Yu Cuiwei solely to rid the martial world of a scourge, as Senior Zhuge said, and had nothing to do with their escape from Daming Mountain!" He suddenly blurted this out, causing everyone to pause in surprise. He took another breath and continued, "My esteemed disciples, according to these martial arts seniors, the young man surnamed Yu who rescued them from Daming Mountain is definitely not the 'Ghost-Faced Demon' Yu Cuiwei, but someone else entirely." At this point... Many members of the eleven sects nodded, showing their unwavering faith in their seniors. Sheng Xiang took another breath and said in a deep voice, "Whether Yu Cuiwei truly rescued you seniors from danger, and whether you seniors felt insulted and wanted to silence you—" He closed his eyes and opened them wide, his gaze sharp and piercing, his tone forceful and unyielding, "Only Liu, the prostitute of Mo Yan Manor who imprisoned you seniors, knows best! Who rescued you from her hands—no one but Liu can be trusted by you. I offer one month to capture Liu alive as proof. Are you willing to allow me one month to bring this matter to light?"

Zhuge Zhi opened his mouth, about to speak, when Sheng Xiang spoke up, taking a deep breath. Still catching his breath, Sheng Xiang glared at him angrily, "Shut up!" He pressed his chest, panting. His earlier emotional outburst, coupled with his physical and mental exhaustion tonight, had triggered his chronic heart condition once more.

Zhuge Zhi was taken aback by his shout and before he could refute, Rong Yin calmly continued: "Seniors of upright character and noble lineage are surely more willing than we are to find out the truth. Besides, we will hand over the captured Liu Ji to you seniors to deal with."

Having said that, Zhuge Zhi was full of disapproval, but he couldn't say anything, so he could only snort: "How do I know if capturing Liu Ji alive is true or not?"

The old man behind him said coldly, "If you all escape into Bingzhu Temple and hide for another ten or eight years, we really won't be able to do anything about it."

"In that case, how about an eye for an eye?" someone said slowly from afar. Then something fell with a "thud" in front of Zhuge Zhi. The red threads in the snow were dazzling, and the bronze was clearly visible. It was a talisman.

As soon as the person spoke, Shengxiang suddenly looked up, "Zening, you..."

A man stood four zhang away from the crowd, his face pale and refined. After throwing the object, he remained indifferent, as if he didn't care at all.

Zhuge Zhi stared at the talisman, noticing it was only half of a pair, cast in bronze and sculpted in the shape of a tiger, with four seal characters faintly engraved on it. He suddenly blurted out, "Tiger Talisman..."

The moment those two words were uttered, everyone's expression changed. They recognized the young man as the court official who had dismissed the elders at Daming Mountain, and wondered why he had appeared in the desolate wilderness on such a snowy night. What exactly did this act of throwing down the tiger tally and declaring "a life for a life" mean...?

"I'll use this military tally as collateral. If Shengxiang fails to capture Liu Ji alive and return within a month, you can take it to the Dali Temple to beat the drum," Ze Ning said calmly. "Are you at ease then?"

Losing the military tally was a capital offense for the pacification envoy! Zhuge Zhi's palms were sweating slightly. This young man threw down the tally and offered his life in exchange for his own, even risking his own life and future to ensure Yu Cuiwei wouldn't escape for a month. "'Ghost-faced demon' actually has an official voucher... Heh heh, you actually trust him so much..."

Ze Ning stared intently at Zhuge Zhi without blinking, his gaze clearly revealing Zhuge Zhi's guilty conscience and fear. He then pressed back directly, saying nothing. After throwing out the tiger tally, he gave Rong Yin a faint smile, glanced at Yu Xiu, and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

It was Yu Xiu who stopped him, his brows furrowed deeply. "How can a general of the court deliberately lose the Tiger Tally? Where do you place the safety of the Eighth Route Army soldiers in Guangdong and Guangxi?"

Ze Ning ignored him, neither turning back nor stopping. Rong Yin coldly said, "Yu Xiu!" Yu Xiu said nothing more, watching Ze Ning stride straight down a snowy path, board the waiting carriage, and head towards Bianjing City. Ze Ning had once deserted from the battlefield for the one he deeply loved; what did abandoning the talisman for the sake of the sacred incense matter? To him, loyalty and righteousness were more important than mountains and rivers. Yu Xiu was not unaware of Ze Ning's deep affection, but seeing him abandon the talisman and risk his life once again, he couldn't help but shout to stop him.

Shengxiang, panting, looked at the snow path that Ze Ning had trodden out... His friends, he had many friends, and even though he abandoned them, they never abandoned him...

Yu Cuiwei was unusually quiet at this moment, not saying a word, standing straight and motionless.

Zhuge Zhi held the imperial tiger tally in his hand, the feeling of fear still vivid in his mind. With the tally in hand, he had nothing more to say. The eleven sects that had besieged Yu Cuiwei exchanged glances and slowly retreated, with several elders walking away to talk.

Rong Yin patted Sheng Xiang on the shoulder, and the group retreated back to their own formation. Tong Toutuo and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.

Sheng Xiang was covered in snow, but even so, he looked as if he had just been pulled from the water. His hair was wet, his forehead was wet, his palms were wet, and his entire body was wet. Rong Yin pressed several pressure points on him and suddenly asked coldly, "I heard the Prime Minister kicked you out?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Cuiwei shuddered, while Shengxiang, panting and laughing, murmured, "Hmm..."

Rong Yin didn't ask any more questions, but Yu Xiu spoke up: "Why didn't you say anything about such a big matter?" Although his gaze was calm, it contained deep anger. He had already instructed her to speak up if necessary, but Sheng Xiang still left alone.

Shengxiang was still panting. He glared at Yuxiu and said unhappily, "Why should I tell you? This young master..." He stopped abruptly, clutching his chest, unable to speak, and even stopped breathing.

Rong Yin was startled and abruptly checked Sheng Xiang's pulse. In that instant, Sheng Xiang's heart stopped beating, and the flow of blood and qi in his entire body ceased, leaving him like a dead man. Rong Yin clenched his fist and struck him hard in the chest. Sheng Xiang woke up with a start, "Why did you hit me?" He caught his breath, his heartbeat returned, and he glared at Rong Yin, "It hurts, do you know that?"

Rong Yin and Yu Xiu exchanged a heavy glance. Yu Cuiwei quietly took two steps back and looked at Sheng Xiang.

If Rong Yin hadn't noticed something was wrong in time, and things had been delayed even a little longer, Sheng Xiang would have truly died without even realizing it. His condition was so serious, and Qi Yang's whereabouts were unknown. In such a state, let alone capturing Liu Ji alive, it was uncertain how long he could even live...

“Prime Minister… really shouldn’t have let him go into the martial world…” Yu Xiu was not good at speaking and rarely took the initiative to speak. When he suddenly said this, his short sentence was full of sorrow.

Shengxiang... has always been most afraid of death. If he hadn't been traveling the martial world and working tirelessly, given his fear of death, hardship, laziness, and love of playing, he would never have put himself in such a truly unbearable situation.

He wasn't a chivalrous hero; he simply wanted simple, joyful things. He hoped everyone, from Emperor Taizong down to his close companions like Xiaoyun and Taibo, would be well, safe, healthy, and blessed. He didn't care whether these people had hurt him or harmed him… He didn't show deep affection to everyone, but simply, with his quiet compassion, he hoped everyone would be well. He strived for this, sacrificed for this, exhausted himself for this, even felt anger and excitement for this, but ultimately, he wasn't a god…

He was, after all, not a god.

"Yu Xiu, search heaven and earth, find Qi Yang for me!" Rong Yin finally spoke in a chilling voice, his usually calm and composed demeanor breaking through his twenty-plus years of composure with extreme anger. "And Tong Wei and Jiang Ling, whether they are gods or ghosts, find them all and bring them to justice!"

"Rongrong, what's gotten into you..." Shengxiang, sitting on the ground, watched Rongyin's long-suppressed anger erupt, shrinking back in genuine fear. Tongwei and Jiangling were Shengxiang's childhood friends from Kaifeng. Tongwei was skilled in supernatural arts, and Jiangling was another person who had been resurrected. Rongyin's relationship with these two wasn't particularly deep, yet he was now speaking angrily, clearly unable to control his emotions. Qiyang, as the imperial physician of the Song Dynasty, had repeatedly assured her that Shengxiang's heart ailment wasn't serious; now that her condition had worsened to this extent, how could Rongyin not be furious?

"Within a month," Yu Xiu said calmly, "within a month, Shi Mei and I will certainly not disappoint you."

Rong Yin sneered. Still angry, he turned to look at the snow scene without saying a word.

Yu Cuiwei stood two steps away, watching their worry and anger, motionless, standing like a stone statue frozen in the snowy night.

No one knew that Yu Cuiwei, the legendary capricious and vicious man, made the first and unchangeable decision of his life at this moment. For the first time, he reflected on his life and realized that there were some things he could not do and could not do!

Soon, the crowd gathered on the snow gradually dispersed. Since the agreement was made a month later, many people who had come from afar bid farewell and left.

On the other side, Zhuge Zhi and his group of nearly a hundred people slowly withdrew. Several carriages emerged from the woods, and Rong Yin, Yu Xiu, Sheng Xiang, and Yu Cuiwei boarded the carriages and headed south.

Rong Yin and Yu Xiu's destination was Rong Yin's residence, Lihua Creek, a journey of about a day from Kaifeng. However, Sheng Xiang fell ill in the carriage. He developed a fever, likely from the cold wind of the snowy New Year's Eve night. After the fever subsided, he was extremely weak and pale. He was still very afraid of dying. Rong Yin had consulted doctors along the way, who said that his overwork and exposure to the cold had damaged his body and mind, making a serious illness inevitable. Furthermore, his heart condition had worsened, and it was uncertain whether he would survive the illness. Sheng Xiang, scolded by everyone, remained silent, obediently resting in the carriage, not daring to utter a single word.

That evening, the carriage stopped at Rong Yin's residence in Lihua Creek. Sheng Xiang climbed into Rong Yin and Gu She's bed to sleep, leaving several people behind, their eyes filled with worry. Shi Shimei sent a letter to Yu Xiu, saying that there was a miraculous medicine called "Ma Fei" that could bring the dead back to life, and wondered if it would help Sheng Tun. "Ma Fei" and "Ma Xian" are parts of the same medicine. Legend has it that when a woman is on the verge of death, "Ma Xian" is used as the main ingredient and "Ma Fei" as the guide, and it can bring her back to life no matter what the illness. If a man is on the verge of death, "Ma Fei" is used as the main ingredient and "Ma Xian" as the guide, and it can also bring him back to life. It is said that this medicine is in the treasure of Leshan, so it must be in Tang Tianshu's hands. However, Rong Yin and Yu Xiu both felt that the Qingzhu Hongqiang of the Blood Sacrifice Society had been razed to the ground by Jiang Chenming and Lady Li had been abducted, and the Biluo Palace had abducted Li Shiyu. If the medicine was left in Qingzhu Hongqiang, it must be in the hands of one of these two factions.

Can the legendary miraculous medicine save Shengxiang? If so, where is it?

On this day, everyone looked at the sacred incense and felt endless worry and fear.

Wenren Nuan was abducted by Fu Ping and Fu Han, put into a carriage, and had her acupoints sealed before being driven towards the Luo River.

When she finally regained consciousness that day, she was already in the Biluo Palace. Wan Yuyue was holding a bowl of medicinal soup, and Xiao Qiu was standing beside her, feeding her the medicine. Xiao Qiu was also full of worry. When she saw that she had woken up, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Amitabha, you've finally woken up."